The greatest show on dirt

The sport dates back over 50 years in Australia and can trace its routes to the turn of last century in the USA.

Almost a decade before the ‘Brickyard’ was paved, a dirt mile track at the Indiana State Fairgrounds was opened to motor sports. The racing of home-modified stock cars grew in popularity, but it wasn’t until after WW1 that ‘Dirt Track Cars’, as they were then known, gained a substantial following.

Competing on rural horse-racing tracks these stripped-out and highly-modified cars -- mainly derived from Model T Fords -- were refined over the coming decades. By the 1930s purpose-built race tracks had begun to appear, with ‘Midgets’ and ‘Big Cars’, as they were then known, vying in their respective classes.

The 1950s saw the design of the Big Cars improve and professionally-built race cars began to become more commonplace. Pre-WW2 four-cylinder engines were soon joined by flathead V8 mills from Mercury and Ford, but these were all superseded with the arrival of Chevrolet V8s in the 1960s.

Around the same time, the term ‘Sprintcar’ surfaced -- though the origins of this name are ambiguous at best. In 1956 the Sprintcar Series was sanctioned by the USAC (United States Automobile Club), along with the smaller National Midget Series.

By the end of the 1960s safety regulations evolved to see roll cages become commonplace. The engines developed more and more horsepower, eventually requiring Sprintcars to run wider tyres and fit wings to produce aerodynamic down-force to keep them on the ground. Fuel tank bladders, five-point harnesses, fire-proof driver suits and gloves and full-face helmets also became mandatory.

There’s no replacement for cubic displacement…
From the early 1970s until today, Sprintcars have continued to evolve. The popularity of the sport had spread across the globe with serious competitions held annually in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.

Engine sizes now dwarfed the four-cylinder units of the original Dirt Track Cars with capacities in some classes rated to 410 cubic inches (6.7-litres).

These methanol burning monsters develop as much as 885 horsepower (660kW) and can travel sideways at speeds averaging close to 150km/h. The cost of an engine is estimated at $50,000, with some US-based teams running as many as six engines per season!

Sprintcar engines have no starter motor, no flywheel, no clutch, no transmission and no battery. The direct drive system is engaged (or disengaged) via a dog clutch operated by a lever next to the driver’s seat -- the menacing V8 sputtering to life after being push-started before each race.

Depending on the track surface and atmospheric conditions, the tyre pressures can vary from as little as 3PSI (20kPa) to 10PSI (69kPa), with the inside (left) tyre inflated to a lower pressure than that on the right (it has less weight on that tyre). Tyre valves are fitted with bleeders that allow the tyre pressure to be maintained as it heats up and expands the air inside, so critical is tyre pressure to the control of the car at race speed.

“It’s an absolute blast!” exclaims Mr Ramsay. “The way the cars are set up means that the slower you go the harder they are to drive. So you have to get past the fear of holding your foot flat on the floor so that the car operates and turns the way it’s supposed to.”

With more than 160 races under his belt and four podium finishes, the former dirt bike racer from Geelong in Victoria is one of the sport’s veterans, and has competed both at home and in the United States. A self-confessed adrenalin junkie Mr Ramsay says his love of speed and the concentration required to compete in Sprintcar racing are an intoxicating blend.

“I raced Motocross and Supercross in my younger days and really enjoyed it. The adrenaline is much the same [as Sprintcar racing] but you don’t have to have the fitness levels Motocross demands,” he explains. “But the concentration [required] is much the same, especially at tracks like Warrnambool where you’re going so quick that if you don’t concentrate, you’ll have an accident pretty quickly.”

The separation of the clay track at the concrete walls is virtually indistinguishable amid the fury and speed of a race, and as the night wears on, the demands on concentration can take their toll on driver and machine. It’s a sensation Mr Ramsay says becomes instinctive, requiring an almost intuitive feel of the surface and a oneness with the machine.

“You have to know where you’re turning and where you’ve got to go [because] when you crash at Warrnambool, you stay crashed,” surmises Mr Ramsay.

Like many who participate in grassroots motorsport, Mr Ramsay’s day job is a means to an end to finance his love of racing. The quarry manager says that when he’s not supervising the comings and goings at work, he and his team are pouring their time – and money – into the Sprintcar.

“In between races we probably spend two or three nights a week and Saturday mornings in the shed. If we have a crash it’s every night. So a lot depends on the luck we’ve had the week before,” he explains. “The cost per night is between $3000 and $3500, but if you wreck a car it can go from $3000 to $10,000 rather quickly.”

Despite the financial costs and obvious risks the allure of Sprintcar racing is strong for both competitors and crowds alike. The season sees racing held every weekend of the warmer months with a full field of racers from every corner of Australia -- and even some from the USA -- a certainty each time.

The Australian Sprintcar season runs from November through to April each year. Most capital cities and many rural centres play host to at least a handful of meetings each season offering ample opportunity to experience the speed and excitement of Sprintcar racing first hand.